Permutation lock



Dee. 19,- 1939. J. A. EDEN ET AL PERMUTATI ON LO CK Fil ed Oct. 14, 1957R 55 MM Patented Dec. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE f PERMUTATIONLOOK James A. Eden, Springfield, Mass, anni Porter Chase, WestHartford,fonn., tssignors, by mesne assignmen'ts, to Bemis & CallCompahy,

Springfield, setts MaSs., a corporation of Massachu-' ApplicationOctober 14, 1937, Serial No. 168,878 6 Claims. (01.70-25) provements ofthe present nvention may be applied, reference may be had to padlooks,as our improvements are peoularly applicable thereto, but it s to beunderstood that the disclosure of ths applicaton of our mprovements sbyway of illustration only, certan of the mprove'ments being of generalapplication tolocks of thetype A. mentioned irrespective of theirintended use. A11 objeot of the present nvention is to provde an mprovedlook of ths sort in which the operatng meohansm may be oompletelyassembled and tested and then nserted as a untary structure inside thelock whereby once the members are set to a. prevailing combnation theycannot be ohanged without destroying the look.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved.arrangement whereby when. force is exerted on the shackle in an effortto force the casing of the look and, therefore, no: njury wll result tothe workng me'chanism.

A further object of the invention s to provide a.n improved shaokleretaning means which may ho assembled With the other operatng meohanismof the look and. the shaQckle subsequently inserted into the casing.

Another am of the invention is to provide a.n improved permuta,tion lookof the oha,racter described. which s characterzed by its smplicity inconstruction, by its eoonomy in manufacture, by its strength a.ndruggedness, by the securty With which the securng element is held inlooked position, and by the esse end faoilty With which t may bemanipulatecl. Other objects Will be in pari: obvious and. in

pari: pointed out more in detal hereinafter.

The nvention accordingly consists in the features of constructio-n,combination of elements and arrangement of parts 'which Will beexemplfied in the oonstruction hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe application of which will be indcated in the appended claims.

In the aooompanying drawing, wherein is shown, for illustrativepurposes, one of the many embodiments which the present invention ma ytake:

Figure 1 s a view of the look completely assembled;

Fig. 2 s a view with the casing in seotion bolt the strain thereon Willbe absorbd by the showing the operating parts in ther assembledpostions;

Fig. 3 is a. sectional vew on the line 3--3 of Fig. 4 s a seotional vewon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig, 5 s a sectional vew on the line 5 5 of 2; V

Fig. 6 is a. sectional detail view of the permutaton members;

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the bolt biasing assemblt; and

Fig. 8 1's a fra;gmentary detail view of the bolt and cam assembly.

Referrng to the dra.vving in detail, the look comprises, in general, acasing which is preferably an open-ended dra.wn steel shell l0, which iswithout any nterior lugs or finish. The closed or top end of the shellis provided With a, pair of alignejd eyes or openings Il to aocommodatethe securngelement or shackle l2. There is provdecl a, base plate orclosure M for the open end, which base plate supports the entreoperative mechanism of the look and' 1's secured in place by bevellingthe periphery of the oasing IO o-ver the perphery of the closure'to forman inturnecl The securing element or shackle I 2 s shown as hav ing a,long leg, l6 and a short leg H; the long leg ha.viriga grooved po'rtior1I 8 below which a. segmental section is out awa.y to fo-rm a collar orstop l9. Both legs are provided With parallel slots 20 adapted to recevea locking bolt, as herena'fter described.

The operating parts are carred on a frame or chassis which comprises,generally, a par of side members or platee 2| and 22 and a conneotingcross wall member 23; the cross wall member being of suoh length thatthe upper edge thereof is adapted to ab1'1t the inner side of the closedend'of the oasing to positon the chassis in position. Each' side memberis provided with outwardly xtending portions 24 o-ver which the tongues|3 of the base plate |4 may be secureol to hold the chassis in plaoe.

The permutation membrs or wheels 26 are rotata,bly mounted upon a shaft21 which in turn is supported by the side members of the frame orChassis. Each permutaton wheel s proVideol With a pluralty of holesoropenings 28 in the side wa,lls thereof, the axes of said openngs beingparallel to the a.xs of the shaft 21. Assocated in cooperatingrelatonshp with eaoh wheel is a bolt operatng element or cam 29 which isalso rotatably mounted on the shaft 21; each prevaiiing combinations maybe multiplied, de-

pendng upon the number of openings in each wheel and the manner in whichthe wheels and cams are arranged in cooperating relationship. Theperipheries of the permutation wheels are provided With suitableindicia, 31; onthe wheels shown this indicia. being in the fortn ofequally spaced markings running from 0 to 9, there being an opening 28in the side of the wheel for each number designated on the peripherythereof. Thus, With ten openings in each permutation wheel, it ispossible to vary the combinations in the embodiment disclosed up to tenthousand. For the purpose of retaining the permutation wheeis in thevarious positions in which they may be set, the wheels are provided ontheir peripheries with spaced notches 33 Which cooperate With the end ofspring fingers 34. These spring fingers may be supported in any s'utableway; in the present instance passing through openings 35 providedtherein in the cross member 23 of the chassis end clamped between thechassis and the casing. The notch at the 0 indicia is provided with astraight fece 36 to stop the turning of the wheels, whereupon it ispossible to set the combination without reading the indicia by merelysetting 9.11 the wheeis to 0 and then counting the clicks therefrom. T0reset the combination, it is necessary to shift the wheeis 26transversely suficiently te release the 1ugs 30 from the associatedopening in the permutation wheels and, after the cam lug 30 has beenre-aligned with the proper opening, to close them again. It is apparentthat once the prevailing combination is set and the operating partsinserted within the chassis, it is impossible to reset the combination.

The sha.ckle securing element or locking bo1t 31 comprises a generallyflat p1ate having a body portion of less width than the spacing betweenthe opposite sides of the chessis and is provided et its upper end witha pair of outwardly extend ing 1ugs which constitute dogs 38 adapted toenter the recesses 26 in the shackle i2 when the bolt is in lockingposition. Positioned intermediate of the top and bottom edges of thebody piatte of bo1t 31 are a pair of outwardly extending trunnions 39 ofgeneraily rectangular shape, end depending from the lower edge of thebody portion of the plate are a plurality of fingers or tangs 40. In thepresent embodiment, on1y two tangs are required as each tang cooperatesWith two di the cams 29. The rear faces of the tangs are furtherprovided near their lower end with a recess M which cooperates With thelocking elements or cams 29 for purposes hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the manner in which the locking pia/te or bo1t is carried,it Will be seen that each of the side members of the chassis is provideda,t its forward edge with an upwardly facing sho'ulder 43 above whichthere is a notch or cut away portion 44; the step intermediate of thenotch and the upwardly facing shoulder forming a fulcrum 45 for the rearfaces 45 of the trunnions of the locking bo1t or piate. The relation ofthese parts s such that When the bo1t is loosely placed on the chassisthe base of the trunnions 39 are disposed above the upwardly facingshoulders 43, and when the rear fece of the trunnion pivots on the steps45 the upper edges of the trunnions Will be free to enter into thenotches or out avvay portions 44. For the purpose of pivoting theiocking plate 31 about the fulcrum or step 45, there 'is provided,intermediate" of the 'trunnions 39 and the permutation cams 29, asuitable spring 41; the spring being so arranged that it will bias thebo1t 31 to inefiectve position. In the embodiment shown, spring 41comprises a central U-shapedportiori end a pair of legs which extendoutvvardly rom one another in opposite directions. The bolt 3'! isprovided with a. narrow opening"8 therethrough. The spring 41 ispositioned by inserting the central U-shaped portion through saidopening With the extending legs of the spring bearing against the frontwall of the casing. As the opening 48 is substantially narrow, thespring 47 is positioned against turning, end, because of the tensionpa.ced thereon by the 1eg's being compressed against the sde wa11 of thecasing, the Spring cannot be jarred from position.

Thus mounted, the spring M normaliy tends to bias the locking bo1t 3'!to ineffective positon Wherein the rear face of the trunnions 38 Wi111ie parallel With the front fece of the step or fulcrum 45. When thepreve.iiing combination has been set on the permutation wheeis, the flatfaces 50 of the cams 29 Will align With the rear faces of.the tangs 49,and the bolt Wii1 assume the above position With the 1ocking dogs 38 outof alignment with the receiving grooves 20 of the shackle 22. However,if the prevailing combination is changed, the cams 29 Will pivot thebolt about the fulcrum 45 to compress the spring 41, causing the iockngdogs 38 to move to the securing positon;. If the shackle |2 shouid beopen after the prevailing combination is disturbed, a downward forcethereon will cause the bevelled lower end 5| of the shackle to carn dogs38 forwardly tofurther compress the spring 41, whereupon the dogs Wi11ride over the prevailing combination. Due to the free mounting of thebolt if the shackle is pu1led outwardly when in eiective positon, thedogs 38 and upper edge of the bo1t 3? Will come into direct contact withthe casing and the strain taken up thereby.

There is further provided means for holding the shackle in positionWithin the casing. in the embodiment shown, this comprises asubstantially flat spring 55 which is arranged with one end positionedin a. slot in spacer 56 and positioned. transversely in a groove 51 inthe top of the chassis side wal1 2| and passing benea,th an arm 58 whichprojects inwardly from the chassis cross member 23. As the bottom ofgroove 51 and the bottom of arm 58 are para11e1, spring 55 Will alwaysbe under slight tension to position the spacer 56. With the spring somounted, the free end may be biased downwardly With the chassis wal1s 2|as a fulcrum, bui; is prevented from upward bias by arm 58.

shackle stop and in the groove 18; the stop 49 limiting the downwar-dmovement of the shackle by abutting aganst the upper face of the sidewa1l 22 of the chassis. T0 prevent wobbling of I the shackle, thre isprovicied. a retainer 59 having oppositely turned fingers 53 which fitinto openings therefor in the chassis and abut the wall of the casing.With the spring in the position shown in Fig. 2, when shaokle B2 is released spring 55 Will immediately forse the long leg of the shackleupwardly to move same out of the easing. However, should an attempt bemade to remove the shackle, the spring Will be lifted against the undersurface of the arm 58, whereupon it Will ha in the path of the top faceof the collar H9 and prevent the removai of the shackle.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewthout departing'from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accom panying drawingshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to oover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention which, as a matter of language, mght be said to falltherebetween.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a look, a casing having a closed end and an open end, the closedend having a par of aligned openings therein, a shackle receivable insaid opening and having an eifective and an ineffective position, achassis wthin said casng,

said chassis having side Wa1ls and a cross wall,

said cross Wall being adapted 1:0 abut the front end of the casing topostion the chassis therein, an outwardly projecting 1ug formed integralwith each of the side walls at the base thereof, means carried by thechassis for controlling the position of said shackle, a closure memberfor the open end of the casing, said closure member having outwardlyextending tongues adapted to be bevelled over and secured to saidoutwardly extending lugs for securing the chassis to the closure member,and an inturned flange on the lower end of the casing for securing saidclosure member and chassis inside the casing.

2. In a look, a. shack1e having a long 1eg and a short 1eg, said 1ongIeg beingprovided With a groove near its lower end, a casing adapted toreceive said shackle, a retaining member for said shackle Within saidcasing, said member comprising a spring disposed generally at rightangles to the 1eg of the shackle and having a fixed end and a free end,and a fulcrum positioned intermediate of the ends of the spring, thefree end of the spring lying in the path of the end of the shackle andbeing free to bias doWnwardly, whereby when said shackle is inserted thefree end of the spring Wll ride over the end of the shackle and intosaid groove, and a stop for preventing upward bias of said springwhereby the shackle may not be removed from the casing after the springis set into the groove.

3. In a look, a chassis, a shaft supported on said chassis, a pluralityof permutation Wheels oarried on said shaft, a cam associated With eachof said wheels, said wheels having horzontally arrangecl openings in theside walls thereof, .an outwardly projecting lug integral With said carnand adapted to enter one of said openings whereby said Wheels and camsmay be arranged in a plurality of selective combinations when saidwheelsand cams are separated transversely, the Walls of said chassisbeing so spaoed that when the proper number of cams and wheels aremounted therebetween such transverse opening is prevented. f

4. In a look, a shackle having an effective position and an ineifectiveposition, a locking bo1t having depending tangs, a plurality ofpermutation wheels adapted to be set to a prevailing com bination, a camassociated with each of said wheels, said cams having a flat surface anda curved surface, spring means for biasing said tangs into positionagainst the flat surface of the tzarns when the prevailing combinationis set,

said tangs having a recess adjacent said cams the curved section of thecams, whereby said permutation wheels may be maintained. in position.

5. In a permutation look, a casing having an end wa11 provided Withopenings for accommodatng a shackle and having a side wall, a shacklehaving an effective and an inefiective position, a locking element forsaid shackle and located in said casing andextending generally in thedirection of said side wall, and means for biasing said element intoineffective position and comprising a spring having a central U-shapedportion extending through an opening in said locking element and havinglegs extending in opposite directions and bearing against said side Wa1lof said casing.

6. In a permutation look, a casing having an end Wa1l provided withopenings for accommodating a shackle and having a side Wa1l, a shack1ehaving an effective and an ineifective position, a locking element forsaid shackle located in said casing and extending generally in thedirection of said side wa1l, said locking element having a narrowopening therethrough, and means for biasing said element intoineifective position com-

